A cerebellar cognitive rheostat bidirectionally controls attention

Abstract Attention requires filtering distractors and amplifying signals, processes classically attributed to cortico-thalamic networks. Here, we reveal that the cerebellum operates as a bidirectional “cognitive rheostat” to optimize attentional states. In mice, the anterior and posterior cerebellar vermis exert opposing control over attention. Granule cells in the anterior vermis are functionally suppressed to gate sensorimotor noise via reticular nucleus-driven feedforward inhibition. Conversely, posterior granule cells are recruited by pontine inputs to amplify cognitive signals, a process relying on Grin1 -mediated NMDA receptor plasticity. Circuit-specific manipulations targeting this push-pull mechanism, or localized pharmacological modulation, successfully rescued attentional deficits in an ADHD mouse model. These findings fundamentally expand the cerebellum’s role beyond motor coordination, identifying a topographic circuit algorithm essential for cognitive control.